Marine railway



' ,1947. G. H. ATWOOD ET AL 2,415,305

MARINE RAILWAY Filed Dec.

19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 TOP or BANK INVENTORS GflbertEAtwoad Daniel M SCJZWQJ Feb. 18, 1947. e. H. ATWOOD ETA L 15,805

MARINE RAILWAY Filed Dec. 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS GiZbertHAZtm/aad DanielMScfiWqrtz 6 i Wu .Jill

947. G. i-l. ATWOOD ET; AL ,415,

MARINE RAILWAY Filed Dec. 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 m M m $5 H mm lNVENToRs GilbertliAiT v'oad l7anieZMSchu artz M/W J Feb. 18 1947. ,g ET A 2,415,805

MARINE RA ILWAY Filed Dec. 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Shet 4 INVENTORS GZZZiertHAtwood Janz'eZM. Schwartz Patented Feb. 18, 1947 oFfF-icE MARINE RAILWAY Gilbert Atwood,

County,

Moon Township, and Daniel M. Schwartz,

Allegheny Pittsburgh,

Pa, assignors to Dravo CorporatiomPittsburgh, Pin, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 19, 1944, Serial N5. 568,875

12' Claims.

Our invention relates to marine railwaysfor removing boatsfrom v the Water, and positioning them ashore where they are accessible for repairs or other work. The inyent'ion'consists in cer-. tain new and useful improvements in the boatmoving mechanism of such a railway.

In Letters Patent No. 1,860,177, granted to F. R. Dravo et al. on May 24, l 32', and owned in common with our present invention, a marine railway is'illustrated and described, and in exemplary way we shall describe our present, invention as it is organized in such railway,

The railway consists of an inclined bed extending from below the edge of a waterway upward upon the shore or bank, and on the bed tracks extend transversely of'the Water-linefl om asuitable distance beneath the water to a. suitable distance inshore. Carriages are severally borne by and movable on the tracks. Means are provided for moving the carriages. 'In'service the boat to be brought ashore is drifted on even keel into broadside position at the lower end of the railway, and is steadied by means of shore lines.

- The Carriages are lowered until they abut upon the hull ofthe boat, and then'the shore lines are slackened ofi and the carriages moved downward on thetracks, pushing the boat offshore until, in deeper water, they pass beneath the hull. As soon as the" carriages clear the hull their descent is arrested, and the-vessel is hauled" shoreward', above the submerged carriages; until it rests against certain stops. provided "for the purpose on the-carriages. Thereupon, the Vessel is tied to the two end carriages, onto the hauling chains by which they are powerfully shifted'on the rails, and then all of thecarri'ages are moved in unison up the inclined railway, raising the vessel and carrying it upward to desired position onthe shore where itis sustained for the work to be done; If the work is to be of long duration, the vessel may be blocked-up on the upper end of the railway, or it may be moved on transfer cars to repair or storage areas at the sides of the railway, and the carriages released for duty in moving other boats.

In themari-ne railway of the said DravoPatent No.,l,860,l77, each carriage is equipped with a hauling chain, and a hauling unit including a prime mover is provided for operating each hauling chain. Theprimemover an electric motor, ordinarily) of each hauling .unit is positively geared to the. chain-actuating mechanism of the unit, and each unit with its connected prime mover is adapted. to be selectively clutched .to a

freely journaled line-shaftwhich is common to all of the units.

As distinguished from such an organization, our invention: comprises the provision of one or more prime movers for positively driving the line-shaft, together with means for selectively engaging the chain-operating mechanisms of the several {hauling units to the driven'shaft. The several prime movers are geared to the shaft at axially spaced-apart points-and a pair of hauling chains, instead of one, is provided for each carriage. By virtue of this organization the number of prime movers may' be" substantially "less than the number of the hauling units, and the hauling units may, advantageously, be connected to and disconnected from the source of rotation at will. As in the case of the previously patented.

structure, each hauling unit is provided with'a brake to impede or arrest operation of "its chainactuating mechanism as desired. Thus'it is that the load-distribution among the several motors and the distribution'of torsional stress along the shaft are more eifectively maintained. All of the advantages of the prior structure are realized with greater economy and eiliciency v The invention will be'understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

Figure 1 is a View invertical and longitudinal section taken on the plane II of Figure 2, of

bodied; I a

Figure- 2 is a view of the railway in plan and to smaller scale; the body of Water, at Whose'margin the railway is installed; will herein be considered to be navigable river, on which river craft such as steamboats, tugs and barges travel} Figure 3 is a fragmentary'view in vertical and longitudinal section taken-on the plane" III-III of Figure 2,'to largerscalethan-Figure I, and

a marine railway'in'whi'chour invention is em- M illustrating details of carriage. structure and of the carriage hauling or? moving means; V

Figure 4 is a fragmentaryview, showing inplan parts which. areshown in' side elevation in' Fig ure 3; y

Figure 5' is a diagrammatic view of" the hauling units and'prime movers of-therailway;

Figure 6 is'a view partlyflin paln and partly in horizontal section,--shewing to larger scale the line shaft and one -ofthe prime movers fragmentarily, and illustrating indet'ailrthe hauling mechanism of on-e'of the several units organized with the shaft; 1

Figure-'7 is a fragmentary View to stilllarger scale, showing in vertical sectionon the axis of the line shaft the parts'ofthemechanism-r ofone hauling unit that are in immediate association with the shaft; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view in plan of the means for securing the hauling chains to thecarriages.

Referring .to the drawings the tracks l oftthe railway are laid in pairs, as shown in. Figure As in thecase ofthe structure of theDravo. patent abovev identified, the; tracks ofieach pair maybe spaced apart. at a relatively narrow interval, say fiver feet, and'the. successive pairs of: tracks are spaced apart a relatively wide interval, say twenty-three feet, there being twelve pairs of tracks in this instance. The tracks are laid at a slope of 1 :8; they may be about four hundred feet long and may extend one hundred and sixty feet beyond the water-line, to a depth of feet below the surface of the water. The rails rest on steel beams embedded in reinforced concrete pads 4, as shown in the Bravo patent. Across the lower end of the railway extends a concrete wall 5, upon which the pads 4 at their lower ends abut. The wall 5 in turn rests in part on a solid line of sheet-steel piling 6, driven in this case through the sedimentary river-bed to rock, to'prevent undercutting by river current. Wooden piles I, driven on a 1:4 batter, underlie so much of the track beams as extends below the waterline; these resist the tendency of the railway to creep down hill. g

A separate carriage 8 travels upon each pair of tracks, and in this installation there are in all 12 carriages. In this case the carriage is of wedge shape and of double box girder construction; it is forty-eight feet long and at the river end stands ten feet high. It is provided with lines of doubleflanged wheels 8] which engage the tracks I.

The construction of the carriages and of the other elements not otherwise herein described in detail may be understood upon reference to the said Dravo patent. Each carriage is moved along its pair of tracks, by means of a hauling member, which consists in a pair of sprocket-chains 9, 9 anchored at one end 90 to the ends of an equalizer bar 94, which is pivotally secured at its center to a bridle-55 extending from the inshore end of the carriage, as shown in Figures 4 and 8. The

bar 94 serves to equalize the pull in the two chains, correcting for variations in length due to differences in stretch, sag, etc. The equalizer bar is limited in its movement, as will be apparent in the showing of Figure 8, so that if one chain breaks in service the carriage held by theremaining chain.. r

The chains are "trained upon a pair of axially spaced sprocket wheels Ill, 10 at the land end of the railway, and passing around the sprocket wheels the chains extend down the inclined railway; and ride rollers 99 between the rails. The matchedpair of chains is of sufficient length to permit the carriage to be lowered to the water end of the railway, with some surplus. The otherwise free ends of the chains, the ends remote from the points of attachment to the carriage, are both secured to a cross-bar 9a which in turn is secured to a single back-haul line 91 of steel rope "which extends around a sheave 92 at the water end of the railway, and at its other end is secured at am to the carriage. The sheave 92 is rotatably borne in an anchorage in the form of a bar 93, adjustable in its effective length. This bar is pivoted, and is of such length that by swinging it the upper end may be raised clear of the water for purposes of adjustment and for proper attention to the sheave 92. In Figure 3 the raised position of the bar 93 is shown in dotted lines. While a single wire rope 9| is shown attached by cross-bar 9a. to the free ends of both chains 9. it will be understood that a wire rope and a sheave may be provided for each of the two chains of thecarriage.

Associated with each carriage is a hauling unit, consisting of a train of reduction gearing R drivenby a pinion 39 integral with a sleeve or quill 3i uponthe line-shaft 16, Figures 6 and 7. The

ab out" twenty 'roller chains 9, 9 upon the gear. The line-shaft is formed of a series of lengths of shafting coupled end to end as shown at 33 and 34 in Figure '7, and to all intents and purposes the line-shaft is as a single shaft extending in continuity across the upper end of the railway. While in some cases the line-shaft maybe positively driven by means of a single prime mover, it is advantageously driven by a plurality of prime movers which in this instance comprise three electric motors. H geared atappropriately spaced points 35 to the shaft to insure substantiallyuniform distribution of driving torque to the shaft. See Figure 5. Each motor is provided with an electrically controlled brake. The motor brakes are indicated at Ha in Figure 5 of the drawings, brake-equipped motors being common pieces of equipment now available on the open market. The quill 3L of each hauling unit is freely rotatable on the lineshaft, but at one end is organized with a magnetic clutch l1, whereby the hauling units may be selectively engaged to and disengaged from the powerfully rotated line-shaft, and at opposite end the quill is provided with a magnetic brake J 3.

The magnetic clutches and brakes may be of conventional construction. Each clutch H includes a disk portion Ila (Figures 6 and '7) united to the quill 3|, a portion l1b united to the rotating line-shaft l6, and a magnetic coil 11c adapted upon being energized to unite the two clutch por-' tions and thereby unite the gear-driving quill 3| with driving shaft 16. The magnetic brake consists of a brake drum 1 3a secured to the quill,

tensionupon the band so that the rotary parts are freed for rotation.

The hauling units. line-shaft and driving m0- tors are contained in a machinery house l8 which extends across the upper or land end of the railway, and, of course, a suitable foundation 36 for the mechanism and suitable bearings 31 for the line-shaft and bearings 38 for the quills 3| are provided, as indicated in Figure '7. The walls of the machinery house [8 may serve as a support for the rails I9 of a service track, upon which a gantry whirler-crane 20 travels, to handle material for the repair work or new work which may be conducted on the marine railway. A service railway 26 extends along the land side of the ma chinery house. r Y I Entrance doors 2! to the machinery house are provided between the succeeding pairs of tracks 1, and through the roof hatchways with removable covers 22 are formed. These hatchways are arranged, one immediately above each hauling unit, and they are sufficient in size to permit the removal of the hauling unit complete, when required. e I

The motors, the magnetic clutches, and the magnetic brakes may be made subject to control from a single properly situated station 23, Fi ure 2, and by a single operator having clear view of the whole railway. -The' hauling-units. with their quill shafts; the motor-driven line-shaft and the magnetic clutches constitute an assembly in which any one hauling unit may be operated' alone, or anycombination of the whole twelve units may be united to the driven lineshaft. A system of signal lights may be arranged, as described in the Bravo patent noted, to indicate to the operator which particular units are connected to the line-shaft for service. Watt meters may be provided in manifest mannento indicate the load on each of the several motors l l although it is to be noted that contrary to the marine railway of said Dravo patent, all of the motors for driving the hauling units are positively geared to the line-shaft, whereby serious overloading of one motor or another is prevented.

It will be obvious to the electrical engineer, particularly in the light of the disclosure of the Bravo patent, that a system of push-buttons may be provided in the control station, and, in response to the selective pressing of these buttons, the hauling units of the individual carriages may be clutched to the line-shaft l6 and moved and then released, so that any carriage may be inched into proper position relativelyto another carriage or other association of carriages. ofan individual carriage will ordinarily be done above the water line and before lowering a set of carriages to receivetheir load. After a floating vessel has been brought to position over a previously lowered set of carriages, further inching may, if necessary, be performed. Inching may also be done in case a particular carriage becomes overloaded in course of hauling. It will further be perceived that, when a boat is to be raised whose hull is not fiat bottomed, cradles may be provided to engage the hull and to be engaged immediately by the carriages, and when such cradles are employed, there Will be greater likelihood of necessity for inching the carriages after submergence. -The controls for the motors, clutches and the brakes are provided with the necessary interlocks and with overload and safety features.

A trench 24 is provided for carrying electrical connections from station 23 to the machinery house, and a feed-line from a suitable source of electric power to the station as indicated at 25; Covered service trenches, whose position is indicated at M, Figure 2, are formed in the pavement between the pairs of rails l, l, and extend from the upper end of the railway down-ward. They are arranged at convenient intervals, and

in this instance they are shown to be arranged on the upstream side of alternate pairs of'tracks. At their upper ends they connect with a crosstrench, indicated at 45. These trenches M are provided, as will be understood, with convenient outlets, and they are serviceable to contain electric conduits and various pipe lines for air, water, steam; etc.

Rudder pits, sunk beneath the general level of the pavement, are provided in suitable locations. In this installation rudder pits 45 are provided at both the down-stream and the. up-stream sides of the railway, and conveniently at a distance about 35 feet to the land side of the water-line; and an additional rudder pit 37 is provided at the extreme upper end of'and on= thedown-stream side of the railway. These pits afford access, for the ready removal of and installation of rudders of vessels" sustained onthe railway.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the provision of a line-shaft having a motor Such inching way will= be realized.

drive} with each motor having its individual brake and eaclr'in'dividual hauling unit having a magnetic clutch. for connecting and disconnecting the hauling unit through the line-shaft to the prime movers or motorsii, afiords many advantages. j A typical sequence of operation may be mentioned: With the motor brakes set, the hauling unitv clutches ll are closed; and the hauling unit brakes l3 are simultaneously released. The motor'brakessecure the line-shaft against rotation, and the. quills 3| of the" hauling units, being clutched: to the line-shaft, prevent the gears. R of the hauling unitirotating, thereby holding the carriages stationary. When the carriages are m bemoved, themotors are started and the motor brakes simultaneously released, to be engaged again only when the motors stop. In such way one or any desired number of carriages may be clutched to the line-shaft and moved. The clutches H and brakes I3 of the hauling units are operated only when the line-shaft is at rest, this practice saving wear on the. clutch and brake linings. Additionally, the electrical control includes switches whereby any individual motor brake maybe released, and one motor only used to drive the line-shaft for a particular group or combination of carriages. Furthermore, if one or more of the motors should fail and be removed the remaining motor or motors" may drive the railway at reduced'capacity; If the motor brakes, motor gears 3'35, or line-shaftat any point should fail, with the eirect that the motor brakes cannot hold the carriages, the main power supply may be shut off, which causes all of the hauling unit brakes lS-to set.

When the carriages are to be drawn either individually or in a group upward on the railway, themotors H are rotated in the appropriate direction of rotation. When the carriages are to be lowered on the railway the motors are reversed. And so the operation of the apparatus will be understood by those skilled in the art, and

the substantial advantages of our' improvements in the drive for the carriages of a marine rail- Within the terms of the appended claims, many modifications and variations may be made without departure from the spirit of the inventiolli V We claim as our invention:

1, In a hoist mechanism having a'plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of ship-supporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway/saidhoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a plurality of prime movers united for joint operation, the number of said prime movers united in said drive being less than the number of said carriages, and means for selectively' connecting the hauling units to said united prime movers-of said drive to effect the operation of either a selected" carriag or'a selected group of carriages.

2.-In' a hoist mechanism havinga plurality ofhau'ling' units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a plurality of'prime' movers united for joint operation, the number of said prime movers united in said. drive being less than the-number of-said carriages, and. means for selectively connectingv the hauling units to said united prime movers of said drive to effect the operation of either a selected carriage or a selected group of carriages, together with brakes auaaon severally organized with said hauling units for locking each carriageagainst movement when its hauling unit is disconnected from said united prime movers.

3. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft and a plurality of prime movers geared at spaced-apart points thereto, said hauling units severally comprising quills mounted on said line-shaft, carriagemoving mechanism arranged. between each quill and anzassociate carriage, and means for selectivelyconnecting the quills to said line-shaft, whereby the several prime movers geared to said line-shaft may be connected as'a unit to drive eithera selected carriage or a selected group of carriages.

4. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of ship-supporting carriages uponhthe tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft and a plurality of prime movers geared at spaced-apart points thereto, said hauling units severally comprising quills mounted on said line-shaft, carriage moving mechanism arranged between each quill and an associate carriage; and means for selectively connecting the quills to said line-shaft, whereby the several prime movers geared to said lineshaftmay 'be connected as-a unit to drive either a selected carriage or a selected group of carriages, together with means organized with each hauling unit for automatically securing the associate carriage against movement when the hauling unit is disconnected from said prime movers. I r

5. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling. units for-moving a plurality ofshipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a plurality of lengths of shaftin-g united end to end to provide a line-shaft, a plurality of prime movers connected to different lengths of said shafting in the line-shaft to drive the line-shaft as a single shaft member, said hauling units severally comprising quills mounted on said line-shaft, carriage-moving mechanism arranged between each quill and an associate carriage, and means, for selectively connecting the quills to said line-shaft, whereby the several primemovers geared to said line-shaft may be connected as a unit to drive either a selected carriage or a selected group of carriages.

6. In a hoist mechanism having a hauling unit for moving a ship-supporting carriage, a pair of chains secured to said carriage and connected to said hauling unit for moving the carriage, and means for equalizing the pull as between the chains of the pair and for retaining connection to the carriage in the event that either chain breaks.

'7. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft, means for positively rotating said line-shaft,'a hauling unit connected to each carriage, and means for selectively connecting said hauling units through said line-shaft to said shaft-rotating means to effect the operation of either a selected carriage or a selected group of carriages.

brakes of the hauling units are being operated.

9. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a, line-shaft, a motor geared to drive said line-shaft, each hauling unit including a quill mounted of said line-shaft, brakes for severally securing said quills against rotation, clutches for severally engaging said quills to said line-shaft, and a brake associated with said motor for locking the line-shaft against rotation While the clutches and brakes associated with said quills are being operated.

10. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft, a plurality of motors geared at spaced intervals to said shaft to drive the same, each hauling unit including a quill mounted on said line-shaft, brakes severally for securing said quills against rotation, clutches for severally engaging said quills to said line-shaft, and a brake associated with each of said motors for locking the line-shaft against rotation while the clutches and brakes associated with said quills are being operated.

11. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft, a motor connected to drive said line-shaft, a brake to lock said lineshaft against rotation when said motor is at rest, and a plurality of clutches operable to engage said units selectively to said line-shaft while said brake locks the shaft against rotation.

12. In a hoist mechanism having a plurality of hauling units for moving a plurality of shipsupporting carriages upon the tracks of a marine railway, said hoist mechanism having a drive that comprises a line-shaft, a motor connected to drive said line-shaft, a brake to lock said line-shaft against rotation when said motor is at rest, and a plurality of clutches operable to engage said units selectively to said line-shaft while said brake locks the shaft against rotation, and a brake organized with each hauling unit to lock the unit against operation when the clutch of the unit is positioned to disengage the unit from the line-shaft.

GILBERT I-I. ATWOOD.

DANIEL M. SCHWARTZ.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Dravo May 24, 1942 Number 

